Percy Bysshe Shelley

Poet

Born: 4 August 1792

Died: 8 July 1822 (drowning)

Birthplace: Near Sussex, England

Best known as:

19th century romantic poet

A radical young fellow, Percy Bysshe Shelley was expelled from Oxford University in 1811 when he published The Necessity of Atheism. His early poems advocated social reform, reflecting the influence of the philosophical writings of William Godwin. He fell in love with Godwin's daughter Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, who later gained fame as the author of Frankenstein. After Shelley's first wife committed suicide in 1816, Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin were married (and it is as Mary Shelly that she is most widely known). Percy Shelley was lost at sea in 1822, while sailing off the coast of Italy.